Save the Date: Moonlight Margarita Run

Of all the running races Dave and I completed in the last year, the one we talk about the most and remember most fondly was the 2008 Moonlight Margarita Run. It was held on a Thursday night, and I’d been Zone-ing like a fiend for months — with the promise that after the Moonlight Margarita Run, I was going to indulge in the margaritas and chips & queso at the after-party. There were plenty of reasons for the run to suck: Dave had already worked out once that day… it was 97.7 degrees when we started… we were fairly new to running, so the 5k distance was still a challenge… Instead of being scorching torture, it was the best run of the year. Pure fun. No pressure about finish time, plus the reward of a fiesta at the end.

It started to turn dark just as we approached the finish line — Our first time running in the dark! we said to each other, all kinds of excited — and the after-party was awesome. A mariachi band played, while runners milled around on the front lawn of the American Legion, sipping frozen margaritas and snarfing down Tex-Mex food from Maudie’s.

[The American Legion looks kind of magical at night, especially if a Mariachi band is playing and you’ve enjoyed a frozen margarita (or two).]

Dave and I snuggled in the shadows under a tree, balancing plates of food on our knees, and feeling romantic and proud and sweaty and giddy and Good. It was the ideal balance of exertion and reward, and I think it was the first time we recognized that running could be a permanent part of our lives if we kept it fun. We started training because we wanted to finish a half marathon, but we kept training because of nights like the Margarita Run… because life’s just better for us when we run a little.

So mark your calendars: Thursday, August 6. Moonlight Margarita Run 2009.

The race benefits The Trail Foundation, the organization dedicated to “protecting and enhancing the trail at Lady Bird Lake.” The trails around the lake are the heart of so many of our activities: CrossFit UTB, running, reading on a bench in the afternoon… and the Moonlight Margarita Run is a pretty easy way to donate to the cause… and eat cheese!